"We're on the two-yard line. ... We're that close and now it's coming apart," one U.S. special forces commander said

Published Mar 30, 2018 at 8:38 AM

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In this Oct. 20, 2014, file photo, thick smoke and flames erupt from an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Kobani, Syria, as seen from a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border.

Just as the Islamic State looks to be on the brink of defeat, senior U.S. officials fear their efforts will be wasted amid a lack of guidance from the White House, NBC News reported.

America's alliance with northern Syria's Kurds is cracking as they question if they can rely on President Donald Trump, who recently replaced his secretary of state and national security adviser.

"We're on the two-yard line. We could literally fall into the end zone. We're that close to total victory, to whipping out the ISIS caliphate in Syria," one U.S. special forces commander told NBC News. "We're that close and now it's coming apart."

More than six senior officials who spoke to NBC News shared that commander's views, revealing frustration bordering on anger. The officials were granted anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss U.S. policy in Syria.

Raqqa Liberated From ISIS After Years of Conflict

After nearly four years since Islamic State militants took over the northern Syrian city of Raqqa in January 2014, Kurdish-led Syrian forces declared victory in the rubble strewn city, declaring Raqqa free of extremist presence.

(Published Friday, Oct. 20, 2017)

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Trump said in a speech Thursday that the U.S. would be "coming out of Syria, like, very soon."